Missing Scenes: The Fork in the Road
by QueenHimiko
Summary: After finding a sword to replace the Sword of Light, Gourry struggles to find a reason to continue traveling with Lina. Set at the end of "The Path of Demon's Fall." Novels continuity.


**AN: I do not own _The Slayers,_ I just play in the sandbox.**

The weight of the sword on his hip was unusually heavy. It had taken a little over a year, but Lina had pulled through on her promise of finding him a sword powerful enough to make up for the loss of the Sword of Light. Now he wielded the legendary Blast Sword. It was truly a worthy replacement for the Sword of Light. Gourry reckoned that he should feel rich. Yet the thought weighed in the back of his mind that by gaining something so valuable he had lost something even more precious. Gourry's eyes never left Lina. There was a fork in the road ahead, and Gourry mused over how to traverse it.

Gourry watched Lina carefully as she bid her farewells to the rest of the group. When she had first met him she had told him she was traveling with him until he gave her the Sword of Light. After he lost it, she had said she would travel with him until they found a replacement. And he dreaded the moment when she would look at him and declare that they no longer had a reason to travel together before wishing him well and taking off on her own.

Yet when the others left she continued walking with him. Even stranger, for once in her life she was silent. He hated it when she wasn't talking. He liked to know what she was thinking! Was she worried that he would leave now that he had the Blast Sword? Or was she worried about how to break it to him that she was leaving?

Whatever the reason, she wasn't talking. And he struggled with the question that he had since they discovered the true nature of his sword. Should he emphasize his utility to her, or should he emphasize how much he enjoyed being with her?

She was still a Mazoku magnet. She sure knew how to find trouble. And even with Dynast vanquished, Gourry had a feeling that the world would be endangered again. And while Lina was certainly a capable person, it helped to have allies. And he had proven a worthy one over and over, even without a powerful sword! His utility to her was reason enough for her to stick with him, or so he hoped. He was sure if he phrased it that way she would consent to continuing their travels together.

But eventually, like traveling together for looking for a sword, it would lead to a dead end if Lina decided she wanted to pack her bags and go home. And he wanted to be by her side forever. And while he at first wanted to be with her because of the amazing things she was doing, now he just couldn't imagine life without her. And besides, wasn't it time he let her know all that she meant to him?

He took a steadying breath to reign in his anxiety. As casually as possible he said, "Now that you mention it, what do we do from here? You said we were looking for a sword to replace the Sword of Light. And we found one."

A look of fear flashed across Lina's face as she agreed with him in a weak voice, and on an impulse he put his hand on her hair, enjoying the feeling of its cool smoothness beneath it, "It's fine." He assured her. Or was he assuring himself? Protecting himself from words that would devastate him?

She looked at him, a reddish tint to her face, "What does 'fine' mean?"

"I don't need a reason to travel with you." He said as he daringly started to stroke her hair. "Isn't it fine to go somewhere on a whim?"

To his great relief, she agreed. The weight of the sword on his hip seemed to lighten. For once, they were traveling together to travel together. There was no pretense.

Gourry looked at her and struggled. The door was open. She was agreeing to travel with him without a pretense. If there ever was a time to tell her about his feeling's for her it was now. But after having taken such a big risk he didn't feel like he had any courage left! She could have said no and she didn't. She could have taken off without him, and she didn't. And he just couldn't bring himself to push his luck any further. She was still beside him. It was enough.

And so, in quiet companionship, they walked down the road together.

AN: Translations for the conversation are from here: novels/book13/ch4/


End file.
